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Bookkeeping Machines

Burroughs

Burroughs bookkeeping machines developed from a combined calculating machine and typewriter developed by William Hopkins of St. Louis and sold by the Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine Company from about 1906. In 1921 Burroughs purchased patent rights to the machine and soon moved production to Detroit. Burroughs would sell accounting into the 1960s. Many examples of these machines in the Smithsonian collections come from that company’s Patent Department.

In 1932 Hans Jurgensen, who had been active in Democratic Party politics in Queens, New York, was appointed a tally clerk for the United States House of Representatives. He and his assistants kept records on how individual members voted on roll call votes for publication in The Congressional Record. They stamped the information by hand, making about 500,000 registrations per year. Jurgensen concluded that a machine could do the work more efficiently, and ordered this modified bookkeeping machine from the Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit.

The machine has eight columns of metal bars that are painted black; each bar covers two key stems. Each column has seven bars labeled: “NVF” (not voting for), “NVA” (not voting against), “NV” (not voting), “AB” (absent), “PR”(present), “NAY”, and “YEA”. A column of keys is labeled the same way. At the top is a row of 17 red zeroing keys. Repeat and error keys are on the right and an operating bar right of them. At the back is a rubber platen and metal carriage. A motor and cord are under the machine.

The machine sits on a black metal stand that fits on a wooden dolly that is painted green and gold. Attached to the stand is a piece of black cloth with snaps. With the wooden kick stand up, it measures: 95 cm. w. x 74 cm. d. x 106 cm. h.

Marks on the back of paper feed, on the kick stand, and on front of machine read: Burroughs. A mark on the front reads: 1A136058.

References:

“Hans Jurgensen, 51, Congressional Aide,” New York Times, June 29, 1945, p. 15. This obituary mentions Jurgensen’s work on the technology of vote tabulation.

This billing machine is an example of the type introduced by Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1922. The large, printing, electric machine has a metal frame painted black and dark green. Two rows of keys, which have two sets of digit keys on them, are at the front, and control the computing mechanism. One set is used to set up amounts entered into the registers and the other to actuate the multiplier.

Behind these rows of keys are four rows of typewriter keys, used to type text. The letters are arranged as on a QWERTY keyboard, but all letters are typed in uppercase and the second symbols indicated on some keys are quite different from a conventional keyboard. All of the keys are covered with what appears to be rubber. A lever on the right above the keyboard can be set for any of three registers. The wide carriage is above and behind the keyboards, and further mechanism behind it.

The red and black ribbon would be enclosed if the case had all its side panels. The machine lacks a stand, but has a motor below. Loose in the case is a flat metal piece and two pieces that fit across the carriage, as well as six smaller pieces – one is a plastic button and five others are metal screws and tacks.

A red paper tag attached to the object reads: PATENT DEPT. (/) #202. The case of the machine is marked above the keyboard: Burroughs. A white tag attached to the machine reads: A213160 (/) TRADE (/) IN. This object was model 202 in the collection of the Patent Division of Burroughs Corporation.